Dominus vobiscum, Et cum spiritu tuo.

The Lord be with You, And with thy spirit ...

Friday, May 26, 2006

BUSY ...

+J.M.J.A.

hahahaha ... I'm actually so busy that I don't even have the time to blog the last few days. =) Well, I've finally experienced how a mum feels like now - this comes especially after a week of helping my mum with all the household chores and etc. I mean I usually help her, but with the loads of things and notes to read and digest during the sem, I didn't help out as much as I wanted too. (this seems so like an excuse .. but I hope its not haha =)) Thank you mum! for all you've done and still are doing... I don't know how I'd survive without you .. =)

Alright, I need to go off again.. Will come back soon. Till Then, God Bless!

Sunday, May 21, 2006

The Da Vinci Code and Harry Potter Crap.

In +J.M.J.A.,

I'm still in the process of writing my opinion on these issues (it will come out in the next post) but I would like to paste an article here, for your perusal. You can also view the article from this link. This is just about the not so little craze of Harry Potter. But I will like also to touch (in later posts) of the craziness and delusions of the Da Vinci Code.

Don Bosco and Harry Potter orA FIENDISH ELEPHANT

(Biographical Memoirs, Vol. VII, page 212ff)We are publishing here a dream of Don Bosco in the context of today’s craze about Harry Potter. Magic and witches can be very fun at the beginning, but soon or late they will turn very nasty.

From the very beginning of the Oratory, Don Bosco had started the custom of giving a spiritual strenna or gift to his boys and co-workers on the last day of the year. It took the form of a motto or slogan to be practiced in the year then about to dawn. This custom is still kept by Don Bosco's successors upright is the Lord," says the psalmist: "He shows sinners the way, He guides the humble to justice, He teaches the humble His way." (Ps. 24:8-9).Since he had not been able to give the annual strenna to his pupils on the last day of the year 1862, Don Bosco promised to do so on the evening of the Feast of the Epiphany. Therefore, on Tuesday, January 6, 1863, after the night prayers, as all artisans and students eagerly awaited him, Don Bosco mounted the platform and addressed them:Tonight I should give you the strenna. Every year around Christmas I regularly beg God to suggest a strenna that may benefit you all. In view of your increased number, I doubled my prayers this year. The last day of the year (Wednesday) came and went, and so did Thursday and Friday, but nothing came to me. On Friday night, January 2, I went to bed exhausted, but could not fall asleep. The next morning I arose from bed worn out and almost half dead, but I did not feel upset over it. Rather, I was elated, knowing from past experience that a very bad night is usually a forewarning that Our Lord is about to reveal something to me. That day I went on with my work at Borgo Cornalese; the next day, by early evening, I arrived back here. After hearing Confessions, I went to bed. Tired from my work at Borgo and from not sleeping the night before, I soon dozed off. Now began the dream which will give you your strenna.

The Enormous ElephantMy dear boys, I dreamed that it was a feast day afternoon and that you were all busy playing, while I was in my room with professor Thomas Vallauri (a contemporary lexicographer, prominent literary man and dear friend of Don Bosco) discussing literature and religion. Suddenly, there was a knock at my door. I rose quickly and opened it. My mother - dead now for six years - was standing there. Breathlessly, she gasped, "Come and see! Come and see!""What happened?" I asked."Come! Come!" she replied.I dashed to the balcony. Down in the playground, surrounded by a crowd of boys, stood an enormous elephant."How did this happen?" I exclaimed. "Let's go down!"Professor Vallauri and I looked at each other in surprise and alarm and then raced downstairs. As was only natural, many of you had run to the elephant. It seemed meek and tame. Playfully it lumbered about, nuzzling the boys with its trunk and cleverly obeying their orders, as though it had been born and raised at the Oratory. Very many of you kept following it about and petting it, but not all. In fact, most of you were scared and fled from it to safety. Finally, you hid in the church. I too tried to get in through the side door which opens into the playground, but as I passed Our Lady's statue beside the drinking fountain and touched the hem of her mantle for protection, she raised her right arm. Vallauri did likewise on the other side of the statue, and the Virgin raised her left arm. I was amazed, not knowing what to think of such an extraordinary thing.

The Enemy of the Holy EucharistWhen the bell rang for church service, you all trooped in. I followed and saw the elephant standing at the rear by the main entrance. After Vespers and the sermon, I went to the altar, assisted by Fr. Alasonatti and Fr. Savio, to give Benediction. At the solemn moment when you all deeply bowed to adore the Blessed Sacrament, the elephant - still standing at the end of the middle aisle - knelt down too, but with its back to the altar.Once services were over, I tried to dash out to the playground and see what would happen, but I was detained by someone. A while later, I went out through the side door which opens into the porticoes and saw you at your usual games. The elephant too had come out of the church and had idled over to the second playground where the new wing is under construction. Mark this well, because this is precisely the place where the grisly scene I am going to describe occurred.At that moment, at the far end of the playground, I saw a banner followed processionally by boys. It bore in huge letters the inscription “Sancta Maria, succurre miseris! Holy Mary, help your forlorn children!” To everybody's surprise, that monstrous beast, once so tame, suddenly ran amuck. Trumpeting furiously, it lunged forward, seized the nearest boys with its trunk, hurled them into the air or flung them to the ground and then trampled them underfoot. Though horribly mauled, the victims were still alive. Everybody ran for dear life. Screams and shouts and pleas for help rose from the wounded. Worse - would you believe it? - some boys who were spared by the elephant, rather than aid their wounded companions, joined the monstrous brute to find new victims.

Under Her MantleAs all this was happening (I was standing by the second arch of the porticle, near the drinking fountain), the little statue that you see there (the statue of the Blessed Virgin) became alive and grew to life-size. Then, as Our Lady raised her arms, her mantle spread open to display magnificently embroidered inscriptions. Unbelievably, it stretched far and wide to shelter all those who gathered beneath it. The best boys were the first to run to it for safety. Seeing that many were in no hurry to run to her, Our Lady called aloud, “Venite ad me omnes! Come all to me!” Her call was heeded, and as the crowd of boys under the mantle increased, so did the mantle spread wider. However, a few youngsters kept running about and were wounded before they could reach safety. Flushed and breathless, the Blessed Virgin continued to plead, but fewer and fewer were the boys who ran to her. The elephant, meanwhile, continued its slaughter, aided by several lads who dashed about, wielding one sword or two and preventing their companions from running to Mary. The elephant never even touched these helpers.Meanwhile, prompted by the Blessed Virgin, some boys left the safety of her mantle in quick sorties to rescue some victims. No sooner did the wounded get beneath Our Lady's mantle than they were instantly cured. Again and again several of those brave boys, armed with cudgels; went out and, risking their lives, shielded the victims from the elephant and its accomplices until nearly ,all were rescued.The playground was now deserted, except for a few youngsters lying about almost dead. At one end by the portico, a crowd of boys stood safe under the Virgin's mantle. At the other stood the elephant with some ten or twelve lads who had helped it wreak such havoc and who still insolently brandished swords.Suddenly rearing up on its hind legs, the elephant changed into a horrible, long-horned specter and cast a black net over its wretched accomplices. Then, as the beast roared, a thick cloud of smoke enveloped them, and the earth suddenly gaped beneath them and swallowed them up.

Promises and MaximsI looked for my mother and professor Vallauri to speak to them, but I could not spot them anywhere. Then I turned to look at the inscriptions on Mary's mantle and noticed that several were actual quotations or adaptations of Scriptural texts. I read a few of them:Qui elucidant me vitam aeternam habebunt - They that explain me, shall have life everlasting. (Eccles. 24:31).Qui me invenerit, inveniet vitam - He who finds me, will find life. (Prov. 8:35).Si quis est parvulus, veniat ad me - Whoever is a little one, let him come to me. (Prow 9:4).Refugium peccatorum - Refuge of sinners.Salus credentium - Salvation of believers.Plena omnis pietatis, mansuetudinis et misericordiae - Full of piety, meekness and mercy.Beati qui custodiunt vias meas - Blessed are they that keep my ways. (Prow 8:32).

Avoid Foul TalkAll was quiet now. After a brief silence, the Virgin, seemingly exhausted by so much pleading, soothingly comforted and heartened the boys and, quoting the inscription I had inscribed at the base of the niche, “Qui elucidant me, vitam aeternam habebunt”, she went on:“You heeded my call and were spared the slaughter wrought by the devil on your companions. Do you want to know what caused their ruin? Sunt colloquia prava: Foul talk and foul deeds. You also saw your companions wielding swords. They are those who seek your eternal damnation by enticing you from me, just as they did with some schoolmates of yours.But “quos Deus diutius exspectat durius damnat - those for whom God keeps waiting longer, He punishes more severely.” The infernal demon enmeshed and dragged them to eternal perdition. Now, go in peace, but remember my words: Flee from companions who befriend Satan, avoid foul conversation, have boundless trust in me. My mantle will always be your safe refuge.”Our Lady then vanished; only her beloved statuette remained. My deceased mother reappeared. Again the banner with the inscription, Sancta Maria, succurre miseris, was unfurled. Marching processionally behind, the boys sang “Laudate Maria, O lingue fideli - Praise Mary, O ye faithful tongues.” Shortly afterwards, the singing waned and the whole scene faded away. I awoke in a sweat. Such was my dream.My sons, now it is up to you to draw your own strenna. Examine your conscience. You will know if you were safe under Mary's mantle, or if the elephant flung you into the air, or if you were wielding a sword. I can only repeat what the Virgin said: “Venite ad me omnes - "Come all to me”. Turn to her; call on her in any danger. I can assure you that your prayers will be heard. Those who were so badly mauled by the elephant are to learn to avoid foul talk and bad companions; those who strive to entice their companions from Mary must either change their ways or leave the house immediately. If anyone wants to know the role he played, let him come to my room and I will tell him. But I repeat: Satan's accomplices must either mend their ways or go! Good night!

Don Bosco had spoken with such fervor and emotion that for a whole week afterward the boys kept discussing that dream and would not leave him in peace. Every morning they crowded his confessional; every afternoon they pestered him to find out what part they had played in the mysterious dream.

That this was no dream, but a vision, Don Bosco had himself indirectly admitted when he said: “I regularly beg God to suggest . . . A very bad night is usually a forewarning that Our Lord is about to reveal something to me.” Furthermore, he forbade anyone to make light of what he had narrated.

But there is more. On this occasion he made a list of the wounded and of those who wielded one or two swords. He gave it to Celestine Durando, instructing him to watch them. The cleric handed the list over to us, and it is still in our possession. The wounded were thirteen - probably those who had not been rescued and sheltered beneath Our Lady's mantle. Seventeen lads wielded one sword; only three had two. Scattered marginal notes next to a boy's name indicate an amendment of life. Also, we must bear in mind that the dream referred also to the future.That it mirrored the true state of things was admitted by the boys themselves later on.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Critical Update Week 2 =) +J.M.J.A.

to all mums: Happy belated Mother's Day

And so, time flies .. it has been 2 weeks since I've started with the long break and hey I've been actually enjoying it. There were a few lazy days where I did nothing absolutely - except catch up on sleep, and there has been, I gladly proclaim, many non-lazy days during which I accomplished things that I've been dreaming of doing during term time. haha, you may wonder what these things are: by any standards, they are quite mundane, not those exciting things many want to do .. e.g.(there are many more these are just some of the most interesting ones for me) saying my prayers with no distraction (and the ability to go for mass when I want to, not according to my time-table), playing the piano for a few hours, sitting in front of my laptop and typing away, reading with no interuption from my conscience (hey there's no school work to finish now =) and yes! latin is now the only thing troubling my brain), the ability to help out around the house and iron and fold and iron and fold and hang and hang and COOk! (trying out new pasta recipes - esp the most recent, tuna pasta), the vast amount of time to go out and catch up with a few friends whom I haven't seen in ages, spending more time with my family and haha, angeline and kenneth (2 good friends of my sis and me), spending my time in the day - day-dreaming: dreaming can be quite therapeutic -> haha, not always good, but good when you think of a certain smiling person(my captain von trapp) ... =) hahahaha... don't try guessing who: it's no one you know.

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Anyway, I so wish that I spent my break before uni started just like how I spend my break now. That time, I tell you, I spent it like a lazy rat .. living up to such a silly nickname and wasting so much time I detest! Well I hope I won't be so lazy this time round .. actually I won't =) thanks to a nicely packed schedule this time around and of course - your own brain is a constant reminder, you need to constantly remind yourself! =) God is good... Yay! Deo gratias!

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Thanks to the long hours spent in front of the piano, we are now exploring new pieces with gusto! aunty mag has lent me her In a Persian Market by Albert W. Ketelbey - a 20th century composer. By and by, he really is a very imaginative composer, I've heard his In a Chinese Temple and together with his In a Persian Market, they are really really very good (not just only quite good) I can't add music to this page so I'm leaving you with a synopsis of the In a Persian Market according to dear old Ketelbey, hopefully, you'd be able to grab a recording of this piece and hear it for yourself, I love the part when the beautiful princess approaches the market place (however this part of the music just makes me think of a certain smiling person, my captain von trapp .. =)) and when the snake charmer arrives ... :

This synopsis was taken from the score:

The camel-drivers gradually approach the market; the cries of the beggars for "Back-sheesh" are heard amid the bustle. The beautiful princess enters carried by her servants, (she is represented by a languorous theme (in my opinion a very famous theme), given at first to clarinet and cello, then repeated by full orchestra) - she stays to watch the jugglers and snake-charmer. The Caliph now passes through the market and interrupts the entertainment, the beggars are heard again, the princess prepares to depart and the caravan resumes its journey; the themes of the princess and the camel-drivers are heard faintly in the distance and the market-place becomes deserted ...

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Ketelbey certainly gives me some inspiration and is a refreshing breather to more mature pieces like that of Beethoven. =) But not to worry, Beethoven you are still my favourite =) I now love especially your sonata in F minor, op.2 no.1, part 4, the prestissimo part (first movement form) where you moved away from being mozartian to creating your own form! (in my opinion) - to all who don't know what I'm talking about, Beethoven was a Classical-Romanticist, as in his early style accomodated more classical characteristics like that of his predecessor, Mozart, but he started developing his own form and style as time progressed and as many things happened to him in his life - esp. that of him growing deaf and of course the custody battle for his nephew - Beethoven never got married, leading him to be a Romanticist! His Mass in B minor also seriously tantalizing for the soul - my most mature, favourite composer!! =) yay! =)

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Now, I can't wait for Friday to come. =)

I will leave you with this paragraph by St. Thomas Aquinas:

If God loves us so, if He is so provident a Father, why does He let us commit sin? The answer is that He is God, reverently respectful of His children, and He has made us men. Why, since He knows from eternity which of us will lose our souls, did He make us at all? The question is a coward's complaint against his humanity and the share of divinity given to men. If we are to have a chance at heaven, we must run the risk of hell; no men is in hell who did not have time after time, the chance of taking heaven in his grasp. Heaven is worth the risk of hell; God is worth the risk of the devil. It is dangerous to be a man lifted up to the heights of God; dangerous, but a danger well justified by the goals that are open to us. The shared power of God that is ours does not destroy His omnipotence, nor does His eternal knowledge destroy our freedom: we are men and He is God, and we can live that divine life with Him forever, if we will, or we can start our hell on earth and preserve it for all of an eternity.

This thought-provoking counsel is certainly very apt for all of us here in this modernistic world full of ideals and principles that are not of God, but of the prince of this world - none other than Satan. God help us in our pursuit of that happiness with You in eternity!

The anointing of Christ's feet. His riding into Jerusalem upon an ass. A voice from heaven.

1 Jesus therefore, six days before the pasch, came to Bethania, where Lazarus had been dead, whom Jesus raised to life. 2 And they made him a supper there: and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that were at table with him. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. 4 Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, he that was about to betray him, said: 5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?

6 Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the purse, carried the things that were put therein. 7 Jesus therefore said: Let her alone, that she may keep it against the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you have always with you; but me you have not always. 9 A great multitude therefore of the Jews knew that he was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests thought to kill Lazarus also:

8 "Me you have not always"... Viz., in a visible manner, as when conversant here on earth; and as we have the poor, whom we may daily assist and relieve.

11 Because many of the Jews, by reason of him, went away, and believed in Jesus. 12 And on the next day, a great multitude that was to come to the festival day, when they had heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried: Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel. 14 And Jesus found a young ass, and sat upon it, as it is written: 15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy king cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.

16 These things his disciples did not know at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things to him. 17 The multitude therefore gave testimony, which was with him, when he called Lazarus out of the grave, and raised him from the dead. 18 For which reason also the people came to meet him, because they heard that he had done this miracle. 19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves: Do you see that we prevail nothing? behold, the whole world is gone after him. 20 Now there were certain Gentiles among them, who came up to adore on the festival day.21 These therefore came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying: Sir, we would see Jesus. 22 Philip cometh, and telleth Andrew. Again Andrew and Philip told Jesus. 23 But Jesus answered them, saying: The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.24 Amen, amen I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, 25 Itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.

26 If any man minister to me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also shall my minister be. If any man minister to me, him will my Father honour. 27 Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause I came unto this hour. 28 Father, glorify thy name. A voice therefore came from heaven: I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. 29 The multitude therefore that stood and heard, said that it thundered. Others said: An angel spoke to him. 30 Jesus answered, and said: This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

31 Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself. 33 (Now this he said, signifying what death he should die.) 34 The multitude answered him: We have heard out of the law, that Christ abideth for ever; and how sayest thou: The Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man? 35 Jesus therefore said to them: Yet a little while, the light is among you. Walk whilst you have the light, that the darkness overtake you not. And he that walketh in darkness, knoweth not whither he goeth.

36 Whilst you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light. These things Jesus spoke; and he went away, and hid himself from them. 37 And whereas he had done so many miracles before them, they believed not in him: 38 That the saying of Isaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he said: Lord, who hath believed our hearing? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? 39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaias said again: 40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

39 "They could not believe"... Because they would not, saith St. Augustine, Tract. 33, in Joan. See the annotation, St. Mark 4. 12.

41 These things said Isaias, when he saw his glory, and spoke of him. 42 However, many of the chief men also believed in him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, that they might not be cast out of the synagogue.43 For they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God. 44 But Jesus cried, and said: He that believeth in me, doth not believe in me, but in him that sent me. 45 And he that seeth me, seeth him that sent me.

46 I am come a light into the world; that whosoever believeth in me, may not remain in darkness. 47 And if any man hear my words, and keep them not, I do not judge him: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He that despiseth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him; the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. 49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father who sent me, he gave me commandment what I should say, and what I should speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting. The things therefore that I speak, even as the Father said unto me, so do I speak.

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This picture of the holy sacrifice of the Mass I like because it so says so much of the most holy sacrifice of the Mass, the mass that brought forth so many saints and martyrs! the mass that Jesus gave us for our soul!

Thursday, May 11, 2006

St Alphonsus Ligouri =)

Some Wonderful Pictures ...

Sacred Heart of Jesus Statue at the Priory in S'pore

Immaculate Heart of Mary Statue at the Priory in S'pore

Saint Joseph, Patron of Fathers, at the Priory in S'pore

+ J.M.J.A. ForeverHello All again! =) today was another great day .. With Angeline's exams over, she's as happy as anyone can be! =) we had a nice time today. Now! my grandma and auntie are staying over at my home ... family gatherings galore! =) o yes, and St. Alphonsus Ligouri is a real good writer. Till the next time then yeah!

-rachanne!

o yes .. here's a link to articles by Fr. Lester - Asian News. His comments are sometimes hilarious and well, he has a sense of humour I guess.. haha =)

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

The Glories of Mary!

+J.M.J.A. Forever

Hello! Hello! Hello! ok, I'm in a real good mood now too. I'm not so sure why, but take it that I've just spent a really interesting afternoon catching up with 2 of my old good friends whom I haven't met for a year! =) 3 of us met in JC - same CCA - grayvine(college publications), but somehow or rather we all went to the different universities so we couldn't help not meeting each other. =) except now! when it's the summer break.. I was smiling all throughout lunch, ask cynthia - she's testament to all that nonsense I put her through =) but really, It's good to meet up with old friends! hahaha... as usual, we winded up taking some neoprints ...I guess I'll put them up somewhere around .. will tell you guys where I've put them up when I'm done scanning them. Cyn and Cat, please msn me the rest yeah! =)

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I've been really into the holiday mood! Doing all those things I've always wanted to accomplish during term time - when I can't find the time to do them ... yes, I'd like to introduce the book, The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori. It's a really intricate and excellent book on our Blessed Mother. Reading it, together with another excellent treatise, the City of God by Ven. Mary of Agreda, you get a good sense and knowledge of what Mother Mary went through and also an indepth look into the lives of the saints - esp. that of St. Joachim and St. Anne, and of course that of the hidden life of Jesus and the life of Mary.

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The City of God - By Ven. Mary of Agreda

and

Here's how another really good book, the Dolorous Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ looks like.

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In the meanwhile, I've been busy with the piano - aunty mag sure is going to love me for this =) I've been practising and practising, Beethoven - my favourite!, I must finish at least 3 sonatas (yours are the most mature music anyone can ever listen to or play!) and Schumann, I must finish your Book for the Young. Bach, your fugues are too tiresome sometimes, but I enjoy the mental exercise it brings. Mendelssohn, I can't wait to play your Songs without Words, and Mozart, don't worry, you are not forgotten, you offer a relaxing alternative especially after Bach and Beethoven your elders and contemporaries. Scarlatti - I enjoy your runs and Debussy, your arabesques charms me.

Here's a sample copy of how my fugue page looks now. And aunty mag says this fugue, is one of the easiest! - hahaha. Bach, I must admit, you are a genius! =)

Friday, May 05, 2006

Some Pertinent Questions 2

+J.M.J.A. Forever!

But above all the arguments and all, deep in my heart, we all don't hate the Pope. We love him! and We do pray very much for him. The very fact that we attend the tridentine mass it is because we want to adhere to the faith, the religion, the catholicism of all times! Jesus said anyway that he is the Way, the Truth and the Life etc. Jesus is yesterday, today and Forever!This is something that is very very fundamental. It is not because we want to rebel.. as some might want to argue. Deep down in my heart, I am just a Roman Catholic, hoping and praying that the pope will one day again stand, facing the altar, make the sign of the cross, and start by saying the Introibo ad altare dei. etc. .. Judica me deus ..., praying and hoping, and someday, as Mother Mary said in the Fatima apparitions, "My Immaculate Heart will Triumph", the Catholic Church will be restored back to her former glory.

16 My son, shed tears over the dead, and begin to lament as if thou hadst suffered some great harm, and according to judgment cover his body, and neglect not his burial. 17 And for fear of being ill spoken of weep bitterly for a, day, and then comfort thyself in thy sadness. 18 And make mourning for him according to his merit for a day, or two, for fear of detraction. 19 For of sadness cometh death, and it overwhelmeth the strength, and the sorrow of the heart boweth down the neck. 20 In withdrawing aside sorrow remaineth: and the substance of the poor is according to his heart. 21 Give not up thy heart to sadness, but drive it from thee: and remember the latter end. 22 Forget it not: for there is no returning, and thou shalt do him no good, and shalt hurt thyself. 23 Remember my judgment: for also shall be so: yesterday for me, and today for thee. 24 When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest, and comfort him in the departing of his spirit. 25 The wisdom of a scribe cometh by his time of leisure: and he that is less in action, shall receive wisdom.25 "A scribe"... That is, a doctor of the law, or, a learned man.26 With what wisdom shall he be furnished that holdeth the plough, and that glorieth in the goad, that driveth the oxen therewith, and is occupied in their labours, and his whole talk is about the offspring of bulls? 27 He shall give his mind to turn up furrows, and his care is to give the kine fodder. 28 So every craftsman and workmaster that laboureth night and day, he who maketh graven seals, and by his continual diligence varieth the figure: he shall give his mind to the resemblance of the picture, and by his watching shall finish the work. 29 So doth the smith sitting by the anvil and considering the iron work. The vapour of the fire wasteth his flesh, and he fighteth with the heat of the furnace. 30 The noise of the hammer is always in his ears, and his eye is upon the pattern of the vessel he maketh.31 He setteth his mind to finish his work, and his watching to polish them, to perfection. 32 So doth the potter sitting at his work, turning the wheel about with his feet, who is always carefully set to his work, and maketh all his work by number: 33 He fashioneth the clay with his arm, and boweth down his strength before his feet: 34 He shall give his mind to finish the glazing, and his watching to make clean the furnace. 35 All these trust to their hands, and every one is wise in his own art.36 Without these a city is not built. 37 And they shall not dwell, nor walk about therein, and they shall not go up into the assembly. 38 Upon the judges' seat they shall not sit, and the ordinance of judgment they shall not understand, neither shall they declare discipline and judgment, and they shall not be found where parables are spoken: 39 But they shall strengthen the state of the world, and their prayer shall be in the work of their craft, applying their soul, and searching in the law of the most High.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Some pertinent Questions

Many have asked me why, why do I attend the SSPX? My cousin, in fact, assured me that there would be, in reality, an excommunication by the archbishop of Singapore on all those who attends the tridentine mass at the SSPX. (~but he can't do it, as per the articles below).I haven't any much time at the moment to write down as to why I (and my family) decided to attend mass here (but you can guess it after reading through all my posts so far), but my argument and my answer will very much be along the lines of those arguments as presented by the society's website, the district of asia website etc. But I will paste one article here for all to read, rest assured I will definitely blog about the personal reasons, during the course of these 3 months, as to why we crossed over so fast, so immediate, after attending a few tridentine masses. =) O yes, and please read the 2 posts before this, about the nature of modern thought.

THE SOCIETY OF ST. PIUS XFOUNDED BY ARCHBISHOP MARCEL LEFEBVRE AND APPROVED BY ROME

The Society of St Pius X is a religious institute affiliated with the Catholic Church because it has been canonically erected according to the laws of the Catholic Church and approved by Rome. It was legally erected in the diocese of Geneva - Lausanne & Fribourg by His Lordship Bishop François Charrière on November 1 1970. It was approved for 6 years ad experimentum. However: "A congregation founded by a Bishop is and remains a diocesan congregation... until such time as it receives pontifical approbation, or at least the decree of praise (can. 492 # 2)"This is precisely what happened. On February 18 1971 a "decree of praise" from His Eminence John Cardinal Wright gave the SSPX Roman approval thus removing the SSPX from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Geneva - Lausanne & Fribourg. Further proof of Roman approbation is the fact that in 1972, the Vatican allowed 3 members of religious orders having pronounced their perpetual vows to be transferred from their orders into the SSPX. Thus de facto Rome recognised and approved the existence of the SSPX. A Dominican religious who, even after the said suspensio a divinis of 1976, asked and obtained from Rome permission to leave the Dominican Order to join the SSPX. If the SSPX was really suppressed why would Rome allow a Dominican religious to leave the Dominicans to join a suppressed Society?It is said that the approval given to the Society was retracted by Mgr Mamie, successor of Mgr Charrière, by a decree of May 1975. That may be so but once a religious order has been approved by a Bishop it can only be suppressed by the Holy See (can. 493 in 1917 code applicable at the time of the Mgr Mamie and can. 584 in the code of 1983). Further it is clear from Mgr Mamie's letter that his decree (like the suspensio a divinis of which we shall speak later) came because of the Archbishop's refusal of the orientations of Vatican II and the new liturgy. The SSPX was therefore illegally suppressed by Mgr Mamie, successor of Mgr Charrière, not by the Holy See.

THE QUESTION OF THE "SUSPENSIO A DIVINIS"A suspension like an excommunication is a medicinal pain inflicted on someone who has committed a crime in order to bring him to repentance. Where there is no crime there is no need for repentance and punishment is unjust as for example in the case of Mother Mary of the Cross (Mackillop).It is very simple to see why the suspension pronounced against the Archbishop in 1976 was null and void. Archbishop Lefebvre committed the following "crimes": 1) he categorically refused the new liturgy and more important; 2) he made a clear declaration of Faith November 21 1974 following the scandalous visit of the two Roman apostolic visitors who publicly denied articles of Faith:"We hold firmly with all our heart and with our mind to Catholic Rome, Guardian of the Catholic Faith and of the traditions necessary to the maintenance of this Faith... We refuse... and have always refused to follow the Rome of Neo-Modernist and Neo-Protestant tendencies which became clearly manifested during the Second Vatican Council and after the Council, in the reforms which issued from it...".These two things very much irritated and could not be tolerated by modernist Rome. These are what brought about the persecution against him and his Society and the subsequent orders to close the seminary, not ordain priests and the illegal suppression by Mgr Mamie, and the suspensio a divinis. Appeals to the decisions were unjustly denied through the influence of Cardinal Villot and pressure from the French bishops. If he would have adopted the new liturgy the Archbishop could have continued his seminary with the approval of Rome.In the case of the refusal of the new liturgy and adherence to the Traditional Mass the suspension and any canonical pain are invalid in virtue of the Bull Quo Primum of St Pius V which give to all priest the perpetual right to celebrate the Mass of "St Pius V" and declares null and void any censures against a priest who celebrates this Mass". This Bull was never abolished therefore it remains in full force. As to #2 obviously one cannot be suspended or excommunicated for professing and keeping the Faith.

This is why the Archbishop has paid no attention to this censures. Since the censure against the Archbishop was null and void so was the censure against his priests. Even the Pope has to respect the virtue of justice. When in 1988 Cardinal Gagnon officially visited the Society he said publicly, to his credit, that Ecône would serve as the model for the renewal of the Church. Is it a wonder he has not been heard of since!

THE QUESTION OF JURISDICTIONLike it or not, the code of Canon Law promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1983 provides for the valid administration of the sacraments of confession, marriage and confirmation by any validly ordained priest. Canon 966 # 2 states that there are two (2) ways for a priest to receive jurisdiction: "A priest can be given this faculty (for valid absolution) either by the law itself or by a concession granted by competent authority in accord with the norm of Canon 969." This concession by the competent authority is what is called "ordinary jurisdiction". The SSPX has never denied its priest do not have ordinary jurisdiction ie. received from the local ordinary.However canon 144 explains how the law itself gives the necessary faculties when it says: "In common error about fact or about law and also in positive and probable doubt about law or fact, the Church supplies executive power of governance (jurisdiction) both for the external and internal forum. #2: "This same norm applies to the faculties mentioned in can. 883 (confirmation), can. 966 (confession) and can. 1111#1 (marriage).So Church Law itself can and does give a validly ordained priest the power to hear confessions, bless marriages and administer confirmations even without the permission of the local bishop.

THE CASE OF COMMON ERRORCommon error is a false judgement of the mind; and the error with which we are here concerned is error regarding the existence of jurisdiction. The priest is erroneously believed to have jurisdiction, whereas he has not. Common error is presumed to exist in all cases where there exists a public circumstance or set of circumstances from which all reasonable persons would naturally conclude that jurisdiction existed. Thus a priest sitting publicly in a confessional in a public parish church may be presumed to have received general faculties for confession. If the fact is that he has not, yet the public circumstance would be a sufficient reasonable foundation for interpretative common error; and the Church would supply the jurisdiction for each and every confession heard in these circumstances, regardless of the number of persons who are in the church, and still more regardless of the number who actually went to that priest, or were preparing to do so.In common error a priest who does not have jurisdiction does something to make people think he does ie. goes to sit in the confessional. It is as simple as that. Ecclesia supplet! Even if no one is fooled by the "public circumstance... Ecclesia supplet!Is there any doubt with regard to the application of common error? As long as the doubt is positive and probable then the Church will supply in virtue of what follows.

THE CASE OF POSITIVE AND PROBABLE DOUBTPositive and Probable Doubt. Doubt means a state of mind in which the mind suspends assent or remains undecided between assent and denial. Doubt is positive if there is a serious reason for assenting to a proposition; yet the prudent fear of error is not entirely excluded. A merely negative doubt exists if there is no reason, or at least no really serious reason for assent. A doubt is probable if there is a solid and probable reason in favour of a proposition, which, however, is not certain. A doubt of law means a doubt concerning the existence or meaning of the law; a doubt of fact is a doubt concerning the existence of any concrete fact other than the existence of the law.I concede there is no doubt concerning ordinary jurisdiction. But who can say the priests of the Society do not receive it from the law itself as stated in Canon 966? The doubt is not the doubt found in the minds of the people but in the mind of the priest. The case of common error does not involve doubt but error, the priest poses an action capable of leading the faithful into error. In the case of positive and probable doubt it is the priest, not the faithful, who doubts whether in this particular case he has jurisdiction to absolve validly and licitly.But wait there is even better. According to can. 1335 of the New Code of 1983: "If a censure prohibits the celebration of the sacraments or sacramentals or the placing of an act of governance (needing jurisdiction), the prohibition is suspended whenever it is necessary to take care of the faithful who are in danger of death; and if an automatic censure (latæ sententiæ) is not a declared one, the prohibition is also suspended whenever a member of the faithful requests a sacrament, a sacramental, or an act of governance; this request can be made for any just cause whatsoever." The New Code of 1983 is even more generous than canon 2261 of the Code of 1917.Let us suppose, for argument sake, that the SSPX priests are suspended or even excommunicated, since the censure has not been declared the faithful can still "for any just cause whatsoever," ask the sacraments from them, even those requiring jurisdiction!So there is at least a doubt. For the priest there is a strong presumption in favour of supplied jurisdiction. Ecclesia supplet!The cases of common error and positive and probable doubt of law or fact are not inventions of the SSPX but are Catholic exceptions to the normal disciplinary rule which have exited long before the SSPX because the supreme aim of the Church is the salvation of souls.Important to note that the case of common error and positive and probable doubt do not require the case of necessity nor danger of death. Nor does canon 1335 which outside the case of someone who has been nominally excommunicated, requires only "any just cause whatsoever". But even here the canon is not as clear as can. 2261 in the old code. In dubio Ecclesia supplet!

THE QUESTION OF OBEDIENCEThe best answer to this very misunderstood question is given in the work "Neither Schismatics Nor Excommunicated" of the Italian magazine "Si Si No No". I will simply quote from it. I just want to add that the translation is not mine. Before giving the quote, it is important to remember that: "the Holy Ghost was not promised to the successors of Peter that by His revelation they might disclose new doctrine, but that by His help they might guard sacredly the revelation transmitted through the apostles and the deposit of faith, and might faithfully set it forth." So the Pope is assisted by the Holy Ghost only when he guards sacredly the revelation transmitted and sets it forth faithfully. This is when we owe obedience because it is obedience to the Holy Ghost himself. The Pope is not assisted by the Holy Ghost otherwise especially if he discloses new doctrines. Vatican II and its innovations are new doctrines. We can respectfully refuse to obey.The modernists and conservatives object: "When the Pope commands the faithful can be sure that he is expressing the will of God". Catholics owe obedience to the Pope as head of the Church but not to the personal orientations of the Pope. Did Catholics owe obedience to the personal orientations of Honorious I while he was favouring heresy? Were they bound to be "in communion" with him? Obviously not. Why then should today's Catholics owe obedience to the personal orientations of Paul VI who openly favoured the modernism, liberalism, ecumenism condemned by his predecessors and invented a "dialogue" unheard of before him and which is a denial of the dogma "Outside the Catholic Church there is no salvation"? Why should they obey the personal orientations of John Paul II who continues and even goes farther in the same direction worsening the disasters of the pontificate of Paul VI? For example can Catholics agree with John Paul II when he says that Catholics and Muslims adore the same God? Absolutely not!This is nothing else than blasphemy! What would the thousands of martyrs who died at the hands of the Muslims precisely because we do not worship the same God think of such blasphemy? The Pope is the vicar of Christ not His successor, he is the supreme authority of the Church but not the absolute authority. In other words the Church does not belong to the Pope's but to Jesus Christ. The Pope is limited by Tradition which is the deposit of the Faith which he cannot change. He is not free to do whatever he wants.Of course a Catholic has to obey the lawful commands of the Pope. But are commands of the Pope which are scandalous, endanger the faith and destroy the Church (such are the new orientations of Vatican II ecumenism, collegiality, liberalism and the new liturgy) lawful command? If a Pope contradicts his predecessors who have all spoken a long the same lines, (which is a big case in favour of the infallibility of what they taught even if it is not all defined)whom do we obey? It is really the new heresy spoken of by Fr. Le Floch the then Rector of the French seminary in Rome in 1926: "The heresy which is now being born will become the most dangerous of all; the exaggeration of the respect due to the Pope and the illegitimate extension of his infallibility." It is what Archbishop Lefebvre called the "master stroke of satan: to bring about disobedience to Tradition in the name of obedience."Now "it seems that since Vatican II, a Catholic is constantly compelled, by necessity, to have to choose between the truth and "obedience", or, in other words, between being a heretic or a schismatic. Thus, to take a few examples,

1. he has had to choose between Saint Pius X's encyclical Pascendi which condemns modernism as a "synthesis of all heresies" and the present ecclesiastical orientation, openly, modernist, which, through the voice of the Holy See, never ceases to laud modernists and modernism and to disparage Saint Pius X whose encyclical was described on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of his death as "a disclosure... without respect to historical points of view" .

2.He has had to choose between the monitum from the Holy Office in 1962, condemning the works of the Jesuit Teilhard de Chardin in that they "are alive with such ambiguities and even errors so serious that they offend Catholic doctrines", and the present ecclesiastical trend which does not hesitate to quote these works even in papal speeches and which, on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the "apostate" Jesuit (R. Vaineve) has in a letter from Cardinal Cassaroli, Secretary of State of His Holiness, praised the "wealth of his thought" and "the unequalled religious fervour" , thus giving rise to the reaction of a group of Cardinals.

3.He has had to choose between the already defined invalidity of Anglican ordinations and the present day ecclesiastical orientation in pursuance of which, in 1982, a Roman Pontiff has, for the first time, taken part in an Anglican rite. In the Cathedral of Canterbury, he jointly blessed the crowd with the lay primate of this heretical and schismatic sect, a primate, who, in his welcoming speech, revindicated for himself, without being contradicted, the title of successor of St Augustine of Canterbury, the Catholic evangelist of Catholic England.

4.He has had to choose between the ex cathedra condemnation of Martin Luther and the present ecclesiastical trend which, "celebrating" the fifth centenary of the birth of the German heretic, declared, in a letter signed by his Holiness John Paul II, that to-day, thanks to the "common researches made by Catholic and Protestant scholars ... has appeared the deep religiosity of Luther".

5.He has had to choose between the historical truths of the Gospels which "Holy Mother Church has affirmed and is affirming in a definite and absolutely constant manner ... and certifies without hesitation", and the present ecclesiastical orientation which denies loudly these historical truths in the document published on June 24th 1985 by the Pontifical Commission on Religious Relations with Judaism.

6.He has had to choose between the Holy Scripture which declares the Jews unbelievers" by hatred of God" according to the Gospel and the present ecclesiastical orientation which, in the speech of the first Pope to visit the synagogue in Rome, discovers in the Jews, still unbelievers, "the older brothers" of ignorant Catholics.

7.He has had to choose between the first Commandment: "Thou shall not have strange gods before Me", matched with the duty, which, since the Redemption, obliges all men to render to God the worship it owes Him "in spirit and in truth", and the present day ecclesiastical orientation according to which. at the invitation of the Roman Pontiff, were practised in the Catholic churches of Assisi, all the forms, even the worst, of superstition: the false worship of the Jews, which in this era of grace, pretend to worship God while denying His Christ; the idolatry of the Buddhists adoring their living idol who sat with his back to the tabernacle, where the flickering light attested to the Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ.8.He has had to choose between the Catholic dogma "Outside the Church there is no salvation" and the present ecclesiastical orientation which sees in non-Christian religions "channels to God" and declares that even polytheist religions "are also venerable".

9.He has had to choose between the immemorial teachings of the Church according to which heretics and/or schismatics are "outside the Catholic Church", and the present ecclesiastical orientation whereby between the "various Christian denominations" exists only a difference... in depth" and "fullness of communion" and for which consequently the different heretical and/or schismatic sects must be "respected as Churches and Ecclesiastical communities".

Let us stop there as it would be materially impossible to enumerate all the choices that have been imposed and are still being imposed all the time on Catholics. Our newsletter ('Si Si No No) has pointed them all out for the last 14 years, and Romano Amero has made an incomplete list in the 636 pages of his book "Iota Unum: A Study of the Changes in the Catholic Church in the XX Century" ."But could it be possible that he whom Christ has joined to Himself as Head of the Church and as Peter would allow, favour, or want in the Church an orientation different from that wanted by Christ or opposed to it? The Holy Scripture, as well as Catholic theology, tells us that, except in cases when the authority of the Pope is covered by infallibility , it is possible. Peter confesses the Divinity of Christ and Jesus tells him: "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee (To you who have confessed that I am the Son of God) that thou art Peter, and upon tills rock I will build my Church" .The same Peter tries to divert Christ from His Passion and Jesus retorts to him: "Go behind me, Satan, thou art an obstacle unto Me (that is the exact meaning of the word "scandal") because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men" .And, in order that we must not think that this "scandal" happened because the primacy had in that point in time only been promised, but not yet conferred, here is the famous episode of Antioch.The Risen Jesus conferred on Peter the primacy which he exercised with the veneration of the first Christian community. In Antioch, however, Paul realises that Peter was "reprehensibilis" because he, and others led by his example, "did not walk uprightly unto the truth of the Gospel" . Though inferior and subordinate to Peter, he reproved him "coram omnibus", in front of everyone. St Thomas comments: "The occasion of the reproach was not minor but just and useful: it was the risk run by evangelical truth; the manner in which it was made was suitable because it was public and evident... given that this lapse constituted a peril for everyone".Therefore Holy Scripture teaches that, with the exception of the case of infallibility, Peter is fallible and can become "reprehensible".

Identical is the teaching of the best Catholic theology, which makes a distinction between the "person" of the Pope and his "function". "Persona papae potest renuere subesse officio papae": "the person of the Pope could refuse to comply with his duty as Pope", writes Cajetan, who adds that persistence in such behaviour would make the Pope a schismatic "per separationem sui ab unitate Capitis": "from his separation from union with the Head" of the Church, who is Christ (41). Cajetan specifies that the axiom "where the Pope is, there is the Church" is valid inasmuch as the Pope behaves as Pope and as Head of the Church; otherwise "the Church is not in him nor is he in the Church".Cardinal Journet deals also with the case of a "bad Pope but still a believer" , of the possibility accepted by "major theologians" of an "heretical Pope", and that of a "schismatic Pope" . He writes on this account that the Pope "can also sin in two ways against the ecclesiastical communion". The second way consists of the fact of "breaking the unity of direction, which could happen, according to the penetrating analysis of Cajetan, if he rebelled, as a private individual, against the duties of his responsibilities, and refused to the Church by trying to excommunicate it as a whole or simply by trying to live solely as a secular prince, the spiritual direction which She has the right to expect from him in the name of one greater than be, that of Christ Himself and of God". And he adds: "the possibility of a schismatic Pope reveals to us furthermore, in underlining a tragic day, the mystery of the holiness of this unity of aims which is necessary for the Church; and it might, perhaps help a historian of t he Church - or rather a theologian of the history, of the Kingdom of God - to throw a divine light on the dark periods of the annals of the papacy, by allowing him to show it was betrayed by some of its trustees".It is obvious that if Catholic theology studies the problems set by a bad, schismatic or even heretical Pope, it is precisely because, as Cajetan says, "persona papae potest renuere subesse officio papae": the person of the Pope, outside the occasions when his infallibility is involved, could refuse to accept the functions of his position as Pope. One last remark: because they had made the distinction between the "papacy" and its "trustees", between the "person" and the "function" of the Pope, many theologians were personally told to get in line during the dark periods of the papacy.As for ourselves, to whom these dark periods had seemed resolved forever, we have lost the habit of such distinctions, and after the First Vatican Council, we ended up by mistaking infallibility and infallibilism, as if the Pope were infallible always in everything, and not in very precise circumstances and under well determined conditions."

IS THE SSPX SCHISMATIC?The Society is not regarded as schismatic by some of the highest prelates in the Vatican. As proof the letter from the Apostolic Pro-Nuncio in the United States in the name of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (1), Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and a letter from Cardinal Edward Cassidy (2), President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.(1) In Hawaii in May 1991 Bishop Ferrario decided to excommunicate some followers of the Society of St.Pius X for supporting the Society and attending its Masses. Rome declared that the decision "lacks foundation and hence validity". The excommunication was overturned by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on June 28, 1993."From the examination of the case, conducted on the basis of the Law of the Church, it did not result that the facts referred to in the above-mentioned Decreee, are formal schismatic acts in the strict sense, as they do not constitute the offence of schism; and therefore the Congregation holds that the Decree of May 1, 1991, lacks foundation and hence validity" (Apostolic Nunciature, Washington DC)(2) Extract from a reply written on May 3,1994 by Cardinal Edward Casssidy, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity,to an inquiry about the status of the Society of St.Pius X"... Regarding your inquiry (March 25, 1994) I would point out at once that the Directory on Ecumenism is not concerned with the Society of St. Pius X. The situation of the members of this Society is an internal matter of the Catholic Church. The Society is not another Church or Ecclesial Community in the meaning used in the Directory. Of course the Mass and Sacraments administered by the priests of the Society are valid. The Bishops are validly, but not lawfully, consecrated.... I hope this answers your letter satisfactorily."

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as mentioned above, here's the link to the article in Si Si No No regarding the 1988 Consecrations

18. True and False ObedienceIndiscipline is everywhere in the Church. Committees of priests send demands to their bishops, bishops disregard pontifical exhortations, even the recommendations and decisions of the Council are not respected and yet one never hears uttered the word “disobedience,” except as applied to Catholics who wish to remain faithful to Tradition and just simply keep the Faith.

Obedience is a serious matter; to remain united to the Church’s Magisterium and particularly to the Supreme Pontiff is one of the conditions of salvation.

We are deeply aware of this and nobody is more attached to the present reigning successor of Peter, or has been more attached to his predecessors, than we are. I am speaking here of myself and of the many faithful driven out of the churches, and also of the priests who are obliged to celebrate Mass in barns as in the French Revolution, and to organize alternative catechism classes in town and country.We are attached to the Pope for as long as he echoes the apostolic traditions and the teachings of all his predecessors. It is the very definition of the successor of Peter that he is the keeper of this deposit. Pius IX teaches us in Pastor Aeternus: “The Holy Ghost has not in fact been promised to the successors of Peter to permit them to proclaim new doctrine according to His revelations, but to keep strictly and to expound faithfully, with His help, the revelations transmitted by the Apostles, in other words the Deposit of Faith.”The authority delegated by Our Lord to the Pope, the Bishops and the priesthood in general is for the service of faith. To make use of law, institutions and authority to annihilate the Catholic Faith and no longer to transmit life, is to practise spiritual abortion or contraception.This is why we are submissive and ready to accept everything that is in conformity with our Catholic Faith, as it has been taught for two thousand years, but we reject everything that is opposed to it.For the fact is that a grave problem confronted the conscience and the faith of all Catholics during the pontificate of Paul VI. How could a Pope, true successor of Peter, assured of the assistance of the Holy Ghost, preside over the most vast and extensive destruction of the Church in her history within so short a space of time, something that no heresiarch has ever succeeded in doing? One day this question will have to be answered.In the first half of the Fifth Century, St. Vincent of Lérins, who was a soldier before consecrating himself to God and acknowledged having been “tossed for a long time on the sea of the world before finding shelter in the harbor of faith,” spoke thus about the development of dogma: “Will there be no religious advances in Christ’s Church? Yes, certainly, there will be some very important ones, of such a sort as to constitute progress in the faith and not change. What matters is that in the course of ages knowledge, understanding and wisdom grow in abundance and in depth, in each and every individual as in the churches; provided always that there is identity of dogma and continuity of thought.” Vincent, who had experienced the shock of heresies, gives a rule of conduct which still holds good after fifteen hundred years: “What should the Catholic Christian therefore do if some part of the Church arrives at the point of detaching itself from the universal communion and the universal faith? What else can he do but prefer the general body which is healthy to the gangrenous and corrupted limb? And if some new contagion strives to poison, not just a small part of the Church but the whole Church at once, then again his great concern will be to attach himself to Antiquity which obviously cannot any more be seduced by any deceptive novelty.”In the Rogation-tide litanies the Church teaches us to say: “We beseech thee O Lord, maintain in Thy holy religion the Sovereign Pontiff and all the orders of ecclesiastical hierarchy.” This means that such a disaster could very well happen.In the Church there is no law or jurisdiction which can impose on a Christian a diminution of his faith. All the faithful can and should resist whatever interferes with their faith, supported by the catechism of their childhood. If they are faced with an order putting their faith in danger of corruption, there is an overriding duty to disobey.It is because we judge that our faith is endangered by the post-conciliar reforms and tendencies, that we have the duty to disobey and keep the Tradition. Let us add this, that the greatest service we can render to the Church and to the successor of Peter is to reject the reformed and liberal Church. Jesus Christ, Son of God made man, is neither liberal nor reformable. On two occasions I have heard emissaries of the Holy See say to me: “The social Kingdom of Our Lord is no longer possible in our times and we must ultimately accept the plurality of religions.” This is exactly what they have said to me.Well, I am not of that religion. I do not accept that new religion. It is a liberal, modernist religion which has its worship, its priests, its faith, its catechism, its ecumenical Bible translated jointly by Catholics, Jews, Protestants and Anglicans, all things to all men, pleasing everybody by frequently sacrificing the interpretation of the Magisterium. We do not accept this ecumenical Bible. There is the Bible of God; it is His Word which we have not the right to mix with the words of men.When I was a child, the Church had the same faith everywhere, the same sacraments and the same Sacrifice of the Mass. If anyone had told me then that it would be changed, I would not have believed him. Throughout the breadth of Christendom we prayed to God in the same way. The new liberal and modernist religion has sown division.(in my own opinion: you just have to look deeper into this whole issue to see the TRUTH of this whole sentence.)Christians are divided within the same family because of this confusion which has established itself; they no longer go to the same Mass and they no longer read the same books.(again in my opinion: you just have to go to the different churches and see how different each mass is from the other)Priests no longer know what to do; either they obey blindly what their superiors impose on them, and lose to some degree the faith of their childhood and youth, renouncing the promises they made when they took the Anti-Modernist Oath at the moment of their ordination; or on the other hand they resist, but with the feeling of separating themselves from the Pope, who is our father and the Vicar of Christ. In both cases, what a heartbreak! Many priests have died of sorrow before their time.How many more have been forced to abandon the parishes where for years they had practised their ministry, victims of open persecution by their hierarchy in spite of the support of the faithful whose pastor was being torn away! I have before me the moving farewell of one of them to the people of the two parishes of which he was priest: “In our interview on the... the Bishop addressed an ultimatum to me, to accept or reject the new religion; I could not evade the issue. Therefore, to remain faithful to the obligation of my priesthood, to remain faithful to the Eternal Church... I was forced and coerced against my will to retire... Simple honesty and above all my honor as a priest impose on me an obligation to be loyal, precisely in this matter of divine gravity (the Mass)... This is the proof of faithfulness and love that I must give to God and men and to you in particular, and it is on this that I shall be judged on the last day along with all those to whom was entrusted the same deposit (of faith).”In the Diocese of Campos in Brazil, practically all the clergy have been driven out of the churches after the departure of Bishop Castro-Mayer, because they were not willing to abandon the Mass of all time which they celebrated there until recently.Divisions affects the smallest manifestations of piety. In Val-de-Marne, the diocese got the police to eject twenty-five Catholics who used to recite the Rosary in a church which had been deprived of a priest for a long period of years. In the diocese of Metz, the bishops brought in the Communist mayor to cancel the loan of a building to a group of traditionalists. In Canada six of the faithful were sentenced by a Court, which is permitted by the law of that country to deal with this kind of matter, for insisting on receiving Holy Communion on their knees. The Bishop of Antigonish had accused them of “deliberately disturbing the order and the dignity of religious service.” The judge gave the “disturbers” a conditional discharge for six months! According to the Bishop, Christians are forbidden to bend the knee before God! Last year, the pilgrimage of young people to Chartres ended with a Mass in the Cathedral gardens because the Mass of St. Pius V was banned from the Cathedral itself. A fortnight later, the doors were thrown open for a spiritual concert in the course of which dances were performed by a former Carmelite nun.Two religions confront each other; we are in a dramatic situation and it is impossible to avoid a choice, but the choice is not between obedience and disobedience. What is suggested to us, what we are expressly invited to do, what we are persecuted for not doing, is to choose an appearance of obedience. But even the Holy Father cannot ask us to abandon our faith.We therefore choose to keep it and we cannot be mistaken in clinging to what the Church has taught for two thousand years. The crisis is profound, cleverly organized and directed, and by this token one can truly believe that the master mind is not a man but Satan himself.

For it is a master-stroke of Satan to get Catholics to disobey the whole of Tradition in the name of obedience. A typical example is furnished by the “aggiornamento” of the religious societies. By obedience, monks and nuns are made to disobey the laws and constitutions of their founders, which they swore to observe when they made their profession. Obedience in this case should have been a categorical refusal. Even legitimate authority cannot command a reprehensible and evil act. Nobody can oblige anyone to change his monastic vows into simple promises, just as nobody can make us become Protestants or modernists. St. Thomas Aquinas, to whom we must always refer, goes so far in the Summa Theologica as to ask whether the “fraternal correction” prescribed by Our Lord can be exercised towards our superiors. After having made all the appropriate distinctions he replies: “One can exercise fraternal correction towards superiors when it is a matter of faith.”If we were more resolute on this subject, we would avoid coming to the point of gradually absorbing heresies. At the beginning of the sixteenth century the English underwent an experience of the kind we are living through, but with the difference that it began with a schism. In all other respects the similarities are astonishing and should give us cause to ponder. The new religion which was to take the name “Anglicanism” started with an attack on the Mass, personal confession and priestly celibacy. Henry VIII, although he had taken the enormous responsibility of separating his people from Rome, rejected the suggestions that were put to him, but a year after his death a statute authorized the use of English for the celebration of the Mass. Processions were forbidden and a new order of service was imposed, the “Communion Service” in which there was no longer an Offertory. To reassure Christians another statute forbade all sorts of changes, whereas a third allowed priests to get rid of the statues of the saints and of the Blessed Virgin in the churches. Venerable works of art were sold to traders, just as today they go to antique dealers and flea markets.Only a few bishops pointed out that the Communion Service infringed the dogma of the Real Presence by saying that Our Lord gives us His Body and Blood spiritually. The Confiteor, translated into the vernacular, was recited at the same time by the celebrant and the faithful and served as an absolution. The Mass was transformed into a meal or Communion. But even clear-headed bishops eventually ac-cepted the new Prayer Book in order to maintain peace and unity. It is for exactly the same reasons that the post-Conciliar Church wants to impose on us the Novus Ordo. The English bishops in the Sixteenth Century affirmed that the Mass was a “memorial!” A sustained propaganda introduced Lutheran views into the minds of the faithful. Preachers had to be approved by the Government.During the same period the Pope was only referred to as the “Bishop of Rome.” He was no longer the father but the brother of the other bishops and in this instance, the brother of the King of England who had made himself head of the national church. Cranmer’s Prayer Book was composed by mixing parts of the Greek liturgy with parts of Luther’s liturgy. How can we not be reminded of Mgr. Bugnini drawing up the so-called Mass of Paul VI, with the collaboration of six Protestant “observers” attached as experts to the Consilium for the reform of the liturgy? The Prayer Book begins with these words, “The Supper and Holy Communion, commonly called Mass...,” which foreshadows the notorious Article 7 of the Institutio Generalis of the New Missal, revived by the Lourdes Eucharistic Congress in 1981: “The Supper of the Lord, otherwise called the Mass.” The destruction of the sacred, to which I have already referred, also formed part of the Anglican reform. The words of the Canon were required to be spoken in a loud voice, as happens in the “Eucharists” of the present day.The Prayer Book was also approved by the bishops “to preserve the internal unity of the Kingdom.” Priests who continued to say the “Old Mass” incurred penalties ranging from loss of income to removal pure and simple, with life imprisonment for further offences. We have to be grateful that these days they do not put traditionalist priests in prison.Tudor England, led by its pastors, slid into heresy without realizing it, by accepting change under the pretext of adapting to the historical circumstances of the time. Today the whole of Christendom is in danger of taking the same road. Have you thought that even if we who are of a certain age run a smaller risk, children and younger seminarians brought up in new catechisms, experimental psychology and sociology, without a trace of dogmatic or moral theology, canon law or Church history, are educated in a faith which is not the true one and take for granted the new Protestant notions with which they are indoctrinated? What will tomorrow’s religion be if we do not resist?You will be tempted to say: “But what can we do about it? It is a bishop who says this or that. Look, this document comes from the Catechetical Commission or some other official commission.”That way there is nothing left for you but to lose your faith. But you do not have the right to react in that way. St. Paul has warned us: “Even if an angel from Heaven came to tell you anything other than what I have taught you, do not listen to him.”Such is the secret of true obedience.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Yeah! The Exams are OVER!!! + J.M.J.A.

Hello one and all! The exams are finally finally finally over and I cannot help announcing that on my blog! ~ finally there's some time to rest, reflect and do all the things that I want to do but could not help not doing during term time. These include catching up with all my readings (all those books=), I've got a new book to satisfy myself for time being - Apologetics and Catholic Doctrine), writing something - I haven't thought of the title but most likely it will be that of veritas or something like that, doing volunteer work, LATIN!, swimming!, and of course more piano =). I promised myself that these 3 months will be fruitful and meaningful. =)

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I've just came home from mass, today's the feast of St. Athanasius, Bishop, Confessor and Doctor of the Church. As bishop of Alexandria, St. Athanasius opposed Arius with admirable zeal. He has left us several works in defense of the divinity of Christ. He suffered frequent persecution. He died in 373.

The PostCommunion of the mass today: From Mt. 10:27, That which I tell you in the dark, speak ye in the light, saith the Lord; and that which you hear in the ear, preach ye upon the house tops. Alleluia!

A little something by Beethoven

List of (Trad) Catholic Publishers

Notes, Notices, Disclaimer

Please feel free to email me, should you need any clarification, should you be in want of a discussion,
or if there are any copyright issues regarding any of the topics/posts that I've blogged about.

My commentary about, or linking to, any website, weblog, journal, essays as well as quotes do not necessarily imply my endorsement, but are only to be understood as my limited approval of the material as and to the extent identified.

I am just a nothing, serious!, and I do make many mistakes! If you spot any wrong, mis-interpreted, mis-used etc. doctrinal issues or issues that are against the only one,true Faith, please email me so that I can make the necessary changes.

O yes and I welcome any comments, please place them on my comments section for each post - but they will be subjected to moderation, if need be.

The new tag-board's up and running as I see it, friends (long lost or not), tag away if you please.:) - also subject to moderation (in case of spam)

Links to where you can find the recommended books have just been put up. :)

And, if blogging does become sporadic in the new year in 07, its only because of the time factor.(but I'm still here :D) Time is eternity! Make full use of it! Do take good care everyone! Have a Blessed Year ahead!!!

EvolutionOUT! I must say. :)

God Bless!

In Christo et Mariae!

Rachel Anne Thérèse

Checklist/New Stuff

What is love? Pilate asked Quid est veritas? What is truth? The answer to that question lies in pondering what really love is. There’s an old saying that love makes the world go round. Yes it does I will say right from the start. It is the very essence of the human spirit. Divine love takes this love a notch higher. It uplifts the soul. When you find this love, you comprehend a little what truth is. I can’t explain what truth is but when you find out the truth, when you ask questions and you get the correct answers, you will find, in your heart, that Veritas liberabit vos (John 8:32). Yes, the truth will set you free. It is a kind of liberation, when the knowledge sets in and knowledge then will bring understanding, then the love comes in and unites everything. So love is always the end product.

...You must wonder why I'm suddenly blogging on such a topic - on making Decisions.
... As I was walking ... to the exam hall for my most recently over CA ... , and after saying the Angelus, it came to me that our lives are also based on the decisions that we make...

...“Behold the Lord, the Ruler is come; and a Kingdom is in his hand and power and dominion.”(Introit of Epiphany). His heart, as shown to St. Margaret Mary in her apparition, with the symbols of love (the flames and the cross), and the symbols of sorrow (the wound and the crown of thorns), tell us that Christ desires to rule over families and societies through love...

..."Indeed,” says St. Augustine, “Jesus is not a King who levies tribute, marshals mighty armies, or puts his enemies to the sword; He is a King who reigns in the hearts, who promises eternal goods, who will lead into the Kingdom of heaven all those who believe, who hope, who love.”...

...My King gave me His Heart ... My King gave me His Life ... My King gave me His All ... what more do I want? Nothing, except Him and Him alone! Fiat voluntas tua!

et cetera, et cetera, et cetera..(Deo volente)

=) God Bless!

EvolutionOUT series

...the point is just to present to you, the dear blog reader, with the facts, evidence etc. that I've read or am studying about or thinking about, from a variety of sources ... about the facts and scientific experiments and explanations that will show things against evolution, things that many of us lack the knowledge of. As Pope Pius XII said...

"God is a Lamb that avails yon not, my Christian,
If you become not also a lamb of God.
The cross on Golgotha redeems not from evil,
If it is not also erected in thee;
The dear Christ's death aids you not, my Christian,
Until in Him and for Him you also have died:"
- Angelus Silesius

Lex orandi, Lex credendi - The Law of Prayer, is the Law of Belief

If you wish to labor with fruit in the conversion of souls,
you must pour the balsam of sweetness upon the wine of your zeal,
that it may not be too fiery, but mild, soothing, patient, and full of compassion.
For the human soul is so constituted that by rigor it becomes harder,
but mildness completely softens it.
Besides, we ought to remember that Jesus Christ came to bless good intentions,
and if we leave them to His control,
little by little He will make them fruitful.
- Saint Francis de Sales

"For the word of God is living and effectual
and more piercing than any two edged sword and reaching unto
the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow:
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Neither is there any creature invisible in his sight:
but all things are naked and open to his eyes, to whom our speech is.
Having therefore a great high priest that hath passed into the heavens,
Jesus the Son of God: let us hold fast our confession.
For we have not a high priest who cannot have compassion on our infirmities:
but one tempted in all things like as we are, without sin.
Let us go therefore with confidence to the throne of grace:
that we may obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid."
- Heb 4:12-16

In te, Domine, speravi, non confundar in aeternum. - Psalm 30:2
In Thee, O Lord, I have hoped, let me never be confounded.